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Craig Laurance Gidney's debut adult novel is set in a marshy, mysterious rural town where a community of artists, students and townspeople are united by visions of a strange, pinkish-purple color.

David Mitchell's new novel might span five perspectives and six decades, but he brings this complex mix together with signature elegance. The combination makes for a thrilling read.

Amy Tan's fans will find familiar themes in her new novel, The Valley of Amazement: mothers and daughters, multi-generational secrets, Chinese-American identity. But Jane Ciabattari says the new work, which centers on an American madam in Shanghai and her courtesan daughter, is more sophisticated than Tan's previous novels.

Michael Chabon's new novel, set on the border between Berkeley and Oakland, Calif., takes stylistic cues from jazz, soul and funk music. It's formally playful, and even when it misses the mark, it's still satisfying to watch Chabon work, says NPR critic Glen Weldon.

What if a child doesn't share a parent's ambition? Kaitlyn Greenidge's novel is inspired by the life of Dr. Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, the third Black woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S.

In Europe, engineers are planning to send a plywood-sheathed satellite into orbit to test how well the venerable construction material holds up in space.

Detroit rhythm-and-blues singer Bettye LaVette had a few hit records in the 1960s and then disappeared — sort of. For the past 40 years, she's been making records and appearing on Broadway. On her new CD I've Got My Own Hell to Raise, LaVette covers 10 songs, all written by women.

Discovery and a crew of seven astronauts blast off for the international space station. An earlier attempt was scrubbed two weeks ago because of a faulty fuel gauge. Hear special coverage of the first shuttle launch since the Columbia disaster two and a half years ago.

Our last monthly roundup of the year includes new music from Theo Parrish, Kim Ann Foxman, Romare, Helena Hauff, Afrikan Sciences, and Frank & Tony.

On his fourth solo album, the Americana singer-songwriter considers the tilted fulcrum of a dissolving marriage in order to confront the allure and the cost of restlessness.